Facts about Palestinian-Americans

 Palestinian Americans are Americans with Palestinian ancestry, forming part of the broader Arab American community. 

 

• Early presence: Small numbers from “Greater Syria” (Ottoman-era Levant) immigrated to the U.S. in the late 19th/early 20th centuries; people later identified specifically as Palestinian as national identities crystallized. 

 

• Major migration waves: Larger inflows followed key upheavals in Palestine/Israel, especially mid‑20th century onward. There are around 160 000 Palestinians in the US (0,05% of the population), according to the 2023 American Community Survey

 

• The Nakba (1948): Arabic for “catastrophe”; refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during/around the 1948 war and the establishment of Israel, followed by the Arab-Israeli War. This event created a large refugee diaspora.

 

• Six-Day War / June War (1967): A June 1967 war in which Israel captured the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza, among other territories; it triggered another displacement wave often called the Naksa (“setback”), further expanding diaspora communities. References. Greater quantities than before fled to the US because of the1965 Immigration and Nationality Act.

 

• Community geography in the U.S.: Palestinian Americans are concentrated in certain metro areas (like the NYC/NJ area, Chicago region, parts of California, Florida, Michigan, and others), reflecting chain migration and family networks. 

 

• Religion and diversity: The community includes Muslims and Christians (and smaller numbers of others), and is internally diverse by region-of-origin, class, and migration story. 

 

• Civic and cultural life: Palestinian Americans have built institutions (community groups, cultural organizations, student associations, advocacy organizations) and are active in U.S. civic life. 

 

• Post–Oct 7, 2023 situation: On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian nationalist and Islamist movement Hamas orchestrated a terrorist attack upon Jewish festival-goers, killing 1200 people. Israel then launched a massive counter-offensive, which continues to this day (despite two "cease-fires) and has killed 75000 Palestinians to date - which has been recognized by many international committees has a genocide (incluidng the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry and Amnisty International). This intensified among Palestinian-Americans grief for family in Gaza/Palestine. They expanded political organizing and protest, but there is also heightened fear of harassment and social/professional repercussions.

Images from the work of comics journalism by Joe Sacco, Palestine (1993)